Hot-hitting Libby Logger softball headed back to state tournament

The young, but talented Libby Logger softball team is going to state following an impressive, 15-0, road win over Ronan Tuesday.

Libby’s win gave the Loggers the Northwest A’s second automatic seed into next week’s State A tournament. Columbia Falls, 10-0 in league, has the No. 1 seed. It's Libby's first appearance at the state tournament since 2023.

Libby has won nine of 11 games since a heart-breaking loss April 25 to Columbia Falls, 6-4. In its last six games, the Loggers have scored 85 runs. Overall, they've outscored their opponents 190-95.

According to information in the Daily Inter Lake, Maddie Willis homered and collected three hits as Libby rolled to a five-inning win. 

The Loggers (13-5) scored in every inning and piled up 17 hits. Dakota Allen and Leah Rusdal each homered during a three-run second inning. 

Willis added a solo homer in the third before Libby broke the game open with six runs in the fifth. Tessa Purdy tripled home two runs, Rossi Baney added an RBI triple and Weslee MacDonald drove in another run with a double. 

Carmen Kohler earned the shutout, allowing four hits and striking out six. 

Polson has a chance to make state; the Lady Pirates will have a play in with Dillon. Ronan (8-10) will head to Corvallis for another qualifier for the 12-team State A tournament March 28-30 in Hamilton. 

Libby splits pair at Laverne Combo

The Libby softball team split a pair of high-scoring games, falling just short against Lockwood before bouncing back with a run-rule win over Lewistown May 15 at the Laverne Combo Softball Invitational. The next day, Libby was supposed to play Livingston and Columbus at the Laverne Combo, but snow cancelled the games.

Libby dropped a 13-11 decision to Lockwood in a game called after three innings because of the time limit. The Loggers fell behind early after giving up nine runs in the first inning, but responded with eight runs in the second to get back into the game.

The teams combined for 25 hits, with Libby collecting 13.

Maddie Willis helped fuel the comeback with a two-run home run in the second inning and finished with three RBIs. Weslee MacDonald had two hits, including a double, and scored twice. Dakota Allen added two hits, including a two-run triple during Libby’s eight-run second inning.

Lockwood pushed its lead back out in the third when Morgan Phelps hit a three-run home run to make it 13-8. The Lions improved to 12-8-1 with the win.

Libby responded with a 12-2 win over Lewistown. MacDonald hit a three-run home run to cap a six-run first inning, giving the Loggers early control. Carmen Kohler handled the rest in the circle, pitching all five innings while allowing three hits, one walk and one earned run. She struck out 12.

MacDonald, Rossi Baney and Willis each drove in four runs for Libby. Baney finished with three hits, while Willis added two. Hadleigh Wood also had two hits and scored three times.